Review: Bound by Lorelei James
Bound
(Mastered, #1)
By: Lorelei James
Publisher: NAL Trade
Published: Feb. 4, 2014
Genre: Erotica
Rating:
Former small-town girl Amery Hardwick is living her dream as a graphic designer in Denver, Colorado. She’s focused on building her business, which leaves little time for dating—not that she needs a romantic entanglement to fulfill her. When her friend signs up for a self-defense class as part of her recovery after an attack, Amery joins her for support. That’s where she meets him.
Ronin Black, owner of the dojo, is so drawn to Amery that he takes over her training—in public and in private. The enigmatic Ronin pushes Amery’s boundaries from the start, and with each new tryst, Amery becomes addicted to the pleasure and to him. But when Amery senses Ronin is hiding something, she questions her total trust in him, despite the undeniable thrill of his possession.
Juggling Personal Reads with Review Books
I don’t know about you but I have a lot of books on my shelves that have been there for a handful of years now. Pretty much since I bought bookshelves, I’ve had books waiting to be read. With reading review books, ARC’s before they come out, and just plain blogging, my personal reads have fallen into the land of Forgotten. So I decided to take part in Roll Back Week where for the entire week I read older books that had been sitting on my shelf collecting dust. Given the fact that Thanksgiving was this week and it was also the only week I had to spend with the Mr. before he went off for training, I didn’t read as much as I’d hoped. I was shooting for a book a day. What I got was three and a half books… I’m still reading the fourth book.
I know I’m not alone on this though, with so many books coming out and review requests coming in, how do you stay on top of it all? Do you make time to read your personal books or are they like mine, forgotten on the shelf? I’m having a rough time trying to juggle personal and blog reading. There are so many series that I’ve started, like Bloodlines by Richelle Mead, and LOVED but now just buy the books if I remember and put them on the shelf next to the others to read at a later date. You can imagine with doing this my bookshelves are overflowing with books since I’m not actually reading them and instead just saving them up for later. Which is why I’m giving away the four books I read during the Roll Back Week. With doing the challenge I realized that there are good books on my shelf just waiting to be read. Maybe I will try to alternate between reading personal and review books. Maybe I will continue to take a week off every month and just read personal books. I have more than enough on my bookshelves, I don’t even want to think about the hundreds of books on my e-readers. :cringes:
How do you juggle your personal reads and the review books?
Hold Me by Betsy Horvath
Hot Property by Carly Phillips
Risking Her Heart by Liz Allison, Wendy Etherington
Jewel of Atlantis by Gena Showalter
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Review: Handcuffed in Housewares by Nikki Duncan
Handcuffed in Housewares
(Tulle and Tulips, #3)
By: Nikki Duncan
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Published: Aug. 20 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating:
Some couples just click. Others require a hard hat and a stud finder.Monday mornings have a reputation for sucking, and today is no different for Burton Anderson. One year ago, his “perfect” life full of prestige, money, success and travel crumbled in the glaring light of betrayal.
This morning? This close to making his new construction business a success, a date gone awry has left him handcuffed to a toilet in a housewares store. Naked. And the first customer of the day is coming down his aisle.
Planning and shopping for other couples’ Big Day is about as wild and crazy as buttoned-up Leigh Schyuler gets. Until she gets an eyeful of Hearth and Home’s daily special. He’s definitely a “designer” temptation while she’s “off the rack”.
But there are risks, and then there are risks. Burton isn’t sure he can once again trust his heart to a woman who holds the power to ruin him. And Leigh discovers too late that indulging in a little no-strings sex is tying her dream of Devoted Love into hopeless knots…
Guest Post: Wolves Within by Shivon Sudesh
Shivon Sudesh is a college student, reading BA English Language and Literature at King’s College, London. She started writing her first novel, Wolves Within, while still in school and it was published by Mereo Book in August 2014.
While not at college, Shivon spends her time reading countless books and pretending to work on her next novel, ‘Doves in Flight’. She enjoys listening to music and hanging out with the fictional characters that occupy her brain.
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Hey, everyone! I’m very excited to be here on Book Sniffers Anonymous – thank you Kristin for letting me write a guest post on your blog!
I’ve finally decided – after flipping through several crackpot ideas, each worse than the last – to talk about the pros and cons of writing a novel in the first or third person. The reason I chose this particular topic is that I spent around a month wrestling with this very dilemma before finally starting work on ‘Wolves Within’ (NB: this is an excellent mode of procrastination!)
I adore books written in the first person. I feel so much closer to the main character, like there’s nothing between me (the reader) and them, no distractions to get in the way of getting to know them. Conversely, with books written in the third person I used to find it harder to really understand and “get into the skin” of the MC – it’s like there’s an invisible wall constructed between me and them. Writing ‘Wolves Within’ in the third person has done a lot to change that, though, and now I can appreciate the unique advantages of a third person narrative.
Which brings me to why I ultimately chose to write ‘WW’ in the third person, despite my reservations. The truth is… I didn’t! If you look at my very, very early notes (I don’t recommend it – they make no sense to anyone, including myself) Sathi is speaking in the first person. So why the change? First person narration is wonderful, it brings you very close to the main character… but it’s limiting. You can only narrate through your chosen character. You can’t have another main character – like Zakiy in ‘WW’ – providing a different perspective. You can’t have random characters interjecting their bit. You can’t have completely unexplained scenes that don’t make any sense at the time, but will make sense later. Third person narration gives you so much flexibility – and for this trilogy, flexibility in narration is essential for me. I can’t imagine writing this in first person now – so I’m quite happy with my choice, despite the lengthy time it took me to make it!
One thing I find quite challenging with writing in the third person, though, is the use of pronouns. With first person it’s very clear: you use ‘I’ with ‘he/she/they’ – simple! But with third person you use ‘she’ and ‘he’ for the narrator, so if both the protagonist and the person they’re talking to are the same gender, you end up having to use the characters’ names about twenty times in just one paragraph… grrr!
What do you, as either a reader or an author, think about the use of first/third person narration? Are you like me, or does it not matter to you?
Wolves Within
By: Shivon Sudesh
Publisher: Mereo Book
Published: Sept. 30, 2014
Genre: YA MysteryWhat really happened to Sathi’s mother – the mother she never knew?
Throughout her eighteen years, Sathi has carried the burden of her grief and guilt over the death of her own mother while giving birth to her. But then she starts investigating – and unearths hidden documents that suggest her mother did not die in childbirth after all. This shocking discovery sends Sathi back to India, the land of her forefathers, on a trail which opens up a world of intrigue she had no idea existed. What secrets are her family keeping from her? What is she to make of the charming but infuriating Zakiy, who is not quite the simple young man he claims to be? And what really happened to her beloved Amma?
*Giveaway is international*
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Review: Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter
Every Ugly Word
By: Aimee L. Salter
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Published: July 29, 2014
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating:
When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.
Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.
The book starts off with adult Ashley as she recounts the bullying she endured in high school. Because of a lie she told, Ashley has been bullied every moment since then. She’s been picked on both physically and emotionally and her self esteem is pretty much non existent. The only thing that’s constant in her life is the fact that her future self is always there for her in the mirror. Apparently, when Ashely looks in the mirror she doesn’t just see her own reflection but that of her older self as well. Apparently the older Ashley is there to guide her and to make sure she gets through the bullying and comes out on top at the other end.
Let me just start out by saying that I was bullied for two years in high school. I would show up to school and beeline it straight to my class. I was always watching my back because no matter where I turned someone was talking about me. It got to the point where my mom was ready to contact the school about it but considering that would only make my life there even more a living hell I just stuck through it until I graduated. At least I had my small group of friends that I could count on. I had a support group, but Ashley doesn’t. She has her one best friend, Matt, who doesn’t even really know that she’s being bullied or why. Things get even worse for Ashley when Matt starts dating one of her tormenters.
Considering I was bullied by a vast majority of kids from school, I wasn’t really able to fully connect with Ashley. She put herself in some situations that I just didn’t understand. I would never go to one of my attackers houses for a party. Heck, I went to a teen club once and that was a very bad idea. Dark club, loud music… you get the picture. Needless to say, I didn’t make that mistake again. However, that was not the case. Ashley didn’t learn her lesson the first time and instead went back into enemy territory again. I just didn’t get it. If you are outnumbered and going in with a sketchy person that’s already bailed on you… why would you put yourself in that situation? Sometimes it just felt like the author was trying to throw Ashley in situations to make her life more dramatic and miserable.
I liked that we got the two time differences in this story. You have future Ashley from the mirror and young Ashley, and Ashley who’s talking to the therapist. And you never really know if she’s just crazy or if she’s a time traveler who observes her past/future self from mirrors. I seriously have no idea what happened. What happened to the Ashley that was in the therapists office? Is she really the same one that young Ashley was talking to? Or was that a different future Ashley? I’m so confused. There’s one point where “therapist Ashley” talks about having sex on prom night, but that doesn’t happen with young Ashley… which is the Ashley that “therapist Ashley” is recounting from her past. So yeah, I’m confused.
Aside from the ending this was a good read. The author knows how to draw a reader in. I literally sat down to read it and didn’t get back up until I finished it. It’s just so raw, and you want to know what happens next. You want to know if it all works out for her or not. I really wish the ending was more clear. I was on board with the whole future self thing but then I was thrown for a loop and I never fully caught up to what had taken place.
“People you love should always be more important than people who judge you.”
Review: Mason Jar Salads and More by Julia Mirabella
Mason Jar Salads and More
50 Layered Lunches to Grab and Go
By: Julia Mirabella
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Published: May 20, 2014
Genre: Cookbook
Rating:
SALAD MAGIC IN A MASON JAR
Discover the coolest way to pack a tasty, healthy lunch! Mason Jar Salads and More shows how to prepare on-the-go meals that are packed with fresh produce and whole foods.The tasty recipes and gorgeous full-color photos in this book will show you how to create amazing dishes, including:
•Pomegranate and pear salad
•Pesto tortellini with cherry tomatoes
•Crunchy Asian salad
•Spinach, blueberry and blue cheese salad
•Curried chicken salad
•Kale and avocado salad
•Porcini mushroom risotto
•Overnight oatmeal with fruit
•Green bean and feta salad
Sunday Wrap-Up #39
This past week my mom and friend flew across the country to visit the Mr and me. We got to show them our new location near the beach and got to see sealions and dolphins from the pier. It was non-stop action the entire week so I wasn’t online the entire time. It was fun having them here but now it’s time to play catch up on the blog.
Last week on BSA:
…nothing…
This week on BSA:
Black Moon Draw by Lizzy Ford (Review & Giveaway)
Mason Jar Salads and More by Julia Mirabella (Review)
Handcuffed in Housewares by Nikki Duncan (Review)
Fierce by L.G. Kelso (Review)
Review: Nobody’s Angel by Kallypso Masters
Nobody’s Angel
(Rescue Me Saga, #1)
By: Kallypso Masters
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Sept. 29, 2011
Genre: Erotica
Rating:
When Marc rescued Angelina from an abusive Dom at his fetish club, he never imagined she’d upend his safe, controlled life. But his SAR partner, Luke, a widower, thinks Angelina has been sent to him by his dead wife. Marc knows only he can fulfill her sexual needs, but won’t hurt his friend. When the abusive Dom stalks her, she turns to Marc for help and learns a submissive has power too.
I will admit that Marc wasn’t one of my favorite characters in the first book. Not that he’s a bad guy but his story just didn’t interest me. He has quite a bit of money thanks to his family’s business. He’s been burned by women that he planned to marry before and has since grown detached from wanting a permanent sub. Sure, he doesn’t mind the one night stands but he’s not up to trusting anyone ever again.
Since reading BDSM romance novels, Angela has been intrigued by it. So when her date takes her to Master at Arms “kink club”, she’s excited to see what all her books talk about. However, the night quickly turns for the worse and she finds herself tied up with an abusive Dom who refuses to heed to the safe-word. So needless to say, she’s not going to be going to anymore BDSM clubs.
Luke is a new character added to the scene. He’s the guy who makes the special furniture for the club. He’s also part of the Search and Rescue team with Marc. So, on one of their SAR missions, Luke is taken back to the place where he not only lost his wife but a SAR member years ago when hiking with his wife. He’s never forgiven himself for what happened that fatal day. If they’d been more cautious and payed attention to the signs, his wife would still be alive and he wouldn’t have the death of Antonio Giardano Sr. on his hands. So imagine his turmoil when he finds himself interested in Antonio’s daughter.
Once the story started, I thought it was interesting but I still couldn’t get on board with a few things that take place. Aside from that one night at the club where Angela was abused by her Dom and then saved by the dungeon master, Marc, she’s as vanilla as they come. So why when presented with Luke and Marc, she starts getting hot and heavy with both of them? Some times separately, or while in the same room sitting next to each other, or the three of them together?!
“She was putty in their hands now. If they wanted to worship at her alter, she wasn’t about to reject their offerings.”
I just didn’t understand how she made that leap when only knowing the guys for a few hours. I mean, she had no clue that Marc was the guy who saved her that night since he was wearing a mask. So it’s not even like she had that to go off of. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.
Aside from that, I was excited to see glimpses of Adam and Karla in this book, since after all, Karla and Angela become friends in this book. Yup, I’m definitely glad that their story is next because I’ve been dying to read up on the Marine who saved the teenage runaway from the local pimps. HaHa
“Angel. She was nobody’s angel, but she liked when Luke called her that anyway.”
Previous reviews from Rescue Me
Masters at Arms
